May 31: College and Career Readiness: What does it really mean? Part 3: The Practitioner Perspective
The Alliance for Excellent Education will host this webinar 3 – 4 p.m. (EDT) to highlight the efforts of the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART). CART staff members will talk about the program and describe their experiences, and representatives from the U.S. and California departments of education will discuss how these college- and career-ready efforts can be supported at the state and federal levels. To register and submit questions for the webinar, click here.

June 3: What Census data means for educationSpotlight on Poverty & Opportunity will host a webinar, “The Common Good Forecaster,” 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. (EDT). The Common Good Forecaster is an online tool created by the American Human Development Project and United Way that ties new Census data to education's impact -- state-by-state and county-by-county -- on health, civic engagement, crime, and other issues. The webinar’s panelists will demonstrate this powerful tool and ways it can impact your work. To register, click here.

The OTL Campaign is a national movement to close the opportunity gap-to ensure that all children, regardless of where they live, have access to top-notch public schools built on high-quality early-childhood education, highly prepared and effective teachers, college-prep curriculum, and equitable instructional materials and policies.

This newsletter is designed to be a unique resource for teachers, parents, students, activists and researchers. In each issue we'll be highlighting news, analysis and upcoming events geared toward those of us working to provide every child with an opportunity to learn.

OTL HIGHLIGHTS

The OTL Campaign welcomes Tina Dove as its directorThe Opportunity to Learn Campaign recently named its new national campaign director, Tina Dove. With education expertise that is deep and wide, Dove will help develop resources and strategies to support building public will to demand that every child is guaranteed the opportunity to learn. Read more>

In his new blog on the Huffington Post, John H. Jackson, president of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, argues that the strength of our nation's future depends on our commitment to ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality public education. Those who rally behind untested reform efforts that benefit the few would further divide the country and erode our prospects for lasting prosperity. It's time to invest in public education – and in our future as a strong Union. Read more>

Privatization is not a panacea for what ails public education. As New York Times columnist Gail Collins points out in a recent column, in states from Ohio to Texas, efforts that have allowed for-profit companies to run schools and hire teachers have yielded lower standards and troubling results. Read more>

Coalition supports early childhood education in new ESEAAs federal lawmakers consider reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this brief makes the argument for a robust early education component in the effort to provide high-quality programs in the fight for equal educational opportunities for all children. Read more>

Philadelphia parents are standing up against school cuts: Using protests, letter-writing campaigns and phone banks, parents are rallying against proposed school budget cuts of nearly $629 million that they say will mean fewer teachers, larger class sizes and less money for special education, among other vital services. Read more >

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